Grow Native Plants for a Bird-Friendly Garden

You don't need much space to attract beautiful birds. Give them fresh water and shelter, grow fruit, seed or nectar-bearing plants and then watch your feathered friends arrive. Large shrubs and trees or masses of plants are easier for them to see, but containers or a space of any size can work. "(Providing) food from native plants ... is the best way to attract birds to your property," says Jen McGuinness, author of Bird-Friendly Gardening: Guidance and Projects for Supporting Birds in Your Landscape (Cool Springs Press).

Hummingbirds are drawn to colorful, tubular flowers like this Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis, hardy in USDA Garden Zones 2 to 8). Other natives for hummers: Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa, hardy in Zones 3 to 9), Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis, hardy in Zones 3 to 8) and Fire Pink (Silene virginica, hardy in Zones 4 to 8). Before you plant, visit the National Wildlife Federation to find native plants for your area. For your native birds, visit the Audubon Guide to North American Birds or use the Merlin app.

Some birds are migratory while others inhabit one region year-round. Depending on where you live and the season, the kind of birds you see will vary.

Below, get more tips on which native plants to include in your bird garden and how to bring more birds to your space — from shady spots to window boxes.

Natives are plant species that occur naturally in your region. They're easy to grow because they've adapted to your soil, light and weather and usually thrive without much extra water or chemical pest and insect controls. This planter is filled with Lance-leaf coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata, hardy in Zones 4 to 9), Blanket or Indian Flower (Gaillardia pulchella, hardy in Zones 2 to 11) and Woodland Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum, hardy in Zones 4 to 8) and other natives. It can attract waxwings, nuthatches, woodpeckers, wrens, cardinals, jays and other birds. These natives can also grow in a bigger garden space.

Not all native plants need full sun. If you have a small, shady patio or other leafy area, Jen recommends 'Bronze Wave' Coral Bells (Heuchera villosa 'Bronze Wave', hardy in Zones 3 to 8), ZigZag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis, for Zones 2 to 9), Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomeum, for Zones 4 to 11) and Virginia Creeper (Parthenoncissus quinquefolia, for Zones 5 to 11) among other natives. They'll draw wood warblers, red-eyed vireos like this one, finches, wrens, chickadees, titmice and more. Jen adds a solar bubbler to attract birds with the sounds of moving water.

Use window boxes for birds if your gardening space is small. Jen says West Coast gardeners can grow Desert Zinnia (Zinnia acerosa, for Zones 6 to 9), Desert Sand-Verbena (Abronia villosa, for Zones 8 to 10), California poppy (shown here, Eschscholzia californica, for Zones 3 to 9) and Wild Canterbury Bells (Phacelia minor, for Zones 4 to 10) among others. They'll appeal to hummingbirds and finches.

East Coast window boxes with full sun and moist soil can hold Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium, for Zones 2 to 8) and Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa, for Zones 3 to 9). Bluebirds, doves, robins and cardinals will feast on the berries while goldfinches and orioles like Butterfly Milkweed.

For a cold climate window box, Jen recommends decorating for the winter with cut stems of Winterberry (Ilex verticillata, for Zones 3 to 9). "The birds will eventually find your window box and snag the red berries." Pair them with stems of Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana). Cedars provide nesting and roosting sites for juncos, various sparrows, robins and mockingbirds.

Although it might be tempting, don't take "plants from the wild or land you don't have permission to be on," Jen says. "This also includes taking seeds. Removing seeds from plants in the wild can affect the plant's ability to remain in that spot in the long term. Lots of independent nursuries sell native plants, such as those featured in the American Beauties line." Local garden centers can also be good sources, and Bower & Birch, a company that partners with the National Audubon Society, sells Audubon-branded plants and trees.

Jen recommends plants that tolerate dry conditions and need well-draining soil for gardeners who have water restrictions or want to conserve this valuable natural resource. This planter for a small space bird garden has a self-watering insert but allows excess water to drain in case it rains heavily or the plants are overwatered. It contains Yellow Coneflowers (Echinacea paradoxa, for Zones 3 to 9), Shenandoah Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah,' for Zones 4 to 9) and Blazing Star (Liatris scariosa, for Zones 3 to 9) as well as other natives. Doves, pigeons, blackbirds, orioles, hummingbirds, finches and New World sparrows (Passerelliadae spp.) are possible visitors.

Jen likes "test-tube style" hummingbird feeders because they're easy to clean and don't hold a lot of sugar water, so she doesn't have to worry that it will sit too long and spoil. "I have two of these and hang them in different parts of the garden, since the Ruby-throated hummingbirds are just a little territorial." She uses this style on a window over her sink and hangs other feeders from an outdoor canopy tent. "In the summer, when I'm writing on my laptop, the hummingbirds will zip in and out." The feeders can be a helpful addition to your native plantings, since hummingbirds will often compete fiercely for food.

If you live in a condo or other place governed by HOA rules, Jen suggests "having conversations about including native plant choices in the approved plant lists and advocating for the area to remain pesticide-free." Natives can benefit HOA budgets, since they typically need less care than exotic or non-native plants, and the insects that visit them supply food for birds. "You can have a huge impact on how the birds in your area survive and thrive," she says.

This condo habitat lures finches, thrushes, New World sparrows and hummingbirds with relatively compact natives like Shamrock Inkberry (Ilex glabra 'Shamrock,' for Zones 4 to 11), Little Goldstar Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida 'Little Goldstar,' for Zones 4 to 10) and Gemo Dense Kalm's St. John's Wort (Hypericum kalmiannum 'Gemo,' for Zones 4 to 9). Before you plant, be sure your HOA doesn't limit plantings to annual and perennials; some permit small shrubs or require you to grow plants that stay attractive year-round.

Thrushes, kinglets, gnatcatchers, nuthatches and other birds will feast on insects drawn to your plants, Jen says. "The majority of a bird's diet is insects, especially when raising their young. You play a major role in creating safe areas for baby birds to be raised. In fact, 96% of land birds feed insects as the primary source of food to their young. Having holes in your leaves is actually a good thing!" This American goldfinch likes the seeds of this Brown-eyed Coneflower (Rudbeckia triloba, hardy in Zones 4 to 8).

"Put out the welcome mat for garden insects," she adds. Eastern phoebes, golden-crowned kinglets and blue-gray gnatcatchers will gobble up beetles, gnats and aphids. Attract native insects with Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana, hardy in Zones 3 to 8) and Calico Aster (Synphyotrichum laterifolrum, for Zones 3 to 9). Also, try native sunflowers (Helianthus spp.), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.) and goldenrod (Solidago spp.), hardy in various zones. You might see cardinals, grosbeaks, mockingbirds, crows, jays, vireos, wrens and other birds.

Western Redbuds (Cercis occidentalis, hardy in Zones 7 to 9) or Eastern Redbuds like the one shown here (Cercis canadensism, for Zones 4 to 9) are lovely additions to bird-friendly gardens, although they obviously need space. Eastern redbuds prefer moist soil and full sun and grow 12 to 25 feet tall, while their Western counterparts need dry, well-drained soil and full sun and mature at 8 to 20 feet. The flowers will attract insects for hungry birds, and, when the flowers form seedpods, they'll provide food for chickadees, titmice, flycatchers, vireos and woodpeckers. If you have a sunny space that's medium-sized or larger, you can also grow Bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera, which grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 2 to 5 feet wide and is hardy in Zones 3 to 7) for hummingbirds. For best results, plant two or more Bush honeysuckles. Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa, which grows 5 to 6 feet tall and wide and is hardy in Zones 3 to 8) will produce summer berries that ripen in fall for Eastern bluebirds, gray catbirds, woodpeckers, blue jays and many more birds.